​The above table serves as a snapshot of the typical factors that impact ridership, and illustrates the differences which exist between the current month and the same month in the previous year. If a change occurred, it is categorized to represent a (typically) positive, negative or neutral impact on ridership.More details on the observed impacts are noted in the description of ridership results below. ​

​Local Network Overview

Local Bus

Monthly Total

There were 4,910,995 boardings in March 2016 on local bus service. This is an increase of 175,860 boardings (or 4 percent increase) compared to March 2015. As in previous years, METRO operated a Weekday schedule on Good Friday and Sunday schedule on Easter. These holidays fell in March 2016, but in 2015 occurred in the month of April. Total boardings on Easter Sunday in March 2016 were approximately 38% higher than Easter Sunday in April 2015. One weekday (Wednesday, March 9) experienced heavy rainfall, which resulted in lower ridership.

Average Daily Ridership: Weekday / Saturday / Sunday

Average Weekday ridership decreased by 1,199 boardings (or less than 1 percent) in 2016 compared to 2015. A majority of this change in ridership is the removal of employee/operator shuttle ridership from reporting in FY2016. The average weekday ridership on employee/operator shuttles in March 2015 was 745 boardings; in other words, nearly two-thirds of the ridership variance is attributable to the change in National Transit Database reporting which excludes reporting of employee/operator shuttles. Average Saturday and average Sunday ridership increased compared to last year (by 9 percent and 34 percent respectively), primarily the result of increased levels of service on high frequency ridership routes on weekends with the implementation of the New Bus Network in August 2015.

​Light Rail

Monthly Total

There were 1,966,173 boardings on all three light rail lines in March 2016. This is an increase of 381,583 boardings (or 24 percent increase) over March 2015. Twenty days of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo occur during March, and ridership increased during the entire Rodeo in 2016 (combining boardings on all three rail lines) compared to 2015 (with only the Red line in service) by approximately 23%. This reflects the addition of Green and Purple rail lines (service began in May 2015), more service on the Northline portion of the Red line (headway, or time between trains, was decreased to 6 minutes effective May 2015), an enhanced bus-rail interface (a component of the New Bus Network), and better weather. Total rainfall in 2016 was 2.15 inches compared to 3.68 inches in 2015 (1.5 less inches of rain, or 40 percent decrease). Average mean temperature during the 2016 Rodeo was 65 degrees, compared to 59 degrees in 2015. One particular Rodeo day in 2016, when compared to the same event day last year, was 28 degrees warmer (72 degrees in 2016 versus 44 degrees in 2015). Only five days (of twenty-three total days of Rodeo) in 2016 were colder than the same event day last year.

Average Daily Ridership: Weekday / Saturday / Sunday

Average daily ridership on Weekday, Saturday, and Sunday all increased in 2016 compared to 2015 (22 percent, 30 percent, and 50 percent respectively). The increases are largely due to the same factors described above for the Monthly Total.

Total Local Network

Monthly Total

Local network ridership increased in 2016 compared to the previous year by 557,442 boardings (an increase of 9 percent).

Average Daily Ridership: Weekday / Saturday / Sunday

Average daily ridership increased on Weekday, Saturday, and Sunday on the local network, by 4%, 12%, and 36%, respectively. Sunday experienced large increases in 2016 compared to 2015 due to increased service levels on the weekend in the New Bus Network, as well as other factors noted earlier.

​Commuter Network Overview

Park & Ride

Monthly Total

There were 720,071 Park & Ride bus boardings in March 2016 compared to 717,040 boardings in March 2015, an increase of 3,031 boardings (an increase of about half a percent). This increase in total boardings is primarily due to the calendar mix (March 2016 had one more day of Park & Ride service compared to March 2015) but reflects higher average weekday boardings as well.

Average Daily Ridership: Weekday

Average daily weekday ridership in March 2016 was 33,506 boardings, an increase of 707 boardings over March 2015 (or 2 percent).

Entire Network Summary

Monthly Total

Ridership on the entire fixed-route network increased by 560,474 boardings (or 8 percent increase) in March 2016 compared to March 2015 as a result of the factors noted earlier.

Average Daily Ridership: Weekday / Saturday / Sunday

Average daily ridership for the entire fixed-route network increased on Weekday, Saturday, and Sunday of 4%, 12% and 36%, respectively. Increased service levels on local bus and a more robust light rail network, as compared to last year.